Monday, September 13, 2010

'Dabangg' - Who's Fearless??? The audience!

This appeared in Bombay Times..... *************

‘Dabangg’ - Big ‘Bangg’ for your buck?

Salman Khan’s Eid offering may create history for shattering box office records, raking it in by the truckloads, and breaking the astounding collections of ‘3 Idiots’. But for me, the one scene that really and truly created history and will go down as an astonishing cinematic moment is the one of Salman Khan’s shirt tearing, popping and flying off his back… all by itself! The shirt deserves a special award for performing this remarkable feat – perhaps, it marks a first in world cinema! Imagine – a shirt with a will and mind of its own! A shirt that understands dramatic timing perfectly and helpfully strips itself off the wearer’s body. Wow! Whosoever thought of this stunt wins a permanent place in the Movie Hall of Fame. The shirt definitely stole the show and in a way, summed up the movie. Rarely does a script in our films work as subversively or slyly as this one. Salman as Chulbul Robinhood Pandey, the corrupt cop with a golden heart, parodies himself brilliantly! It is such a clever take on all that Sallubhai stands for ( mad genius, bad boy, man with the best lines in town), and that he succeeds in sending up his own persona so brilliantly, is a killer plan in itself. Those looking for a plot, be warned – it is flimsier than Munni’s ( Malaika in a sizzling item number that out-beedis Bipasha's) barely there costumes. Both are ‘badnaam’. The director claims he went back to the 70’s formula ( half brothers, wicked step father ) to come up with ‘Dabangg’. If so, he should have milked the genre still more and thrown in a wicked thakur and a tonga race. Instead, there is Sonu Sood as a wily goon of the local neta. Not a bad plan, given Sood’s intelligent performance and rippling abs ( unfortunately, his kurta is less talented than Salman’s shirt). The other surprising performance that competes with the Magical Shirt comes from Arbaz Khan playing Chulbul’s dumb brother. That leaves ‘Dhano’ … sorry, Rajjo, an impoverished potter played by newbie Sonakshi in sexy designer gear and perfectly applied MAC makeup , her hair cut and layered to salon perfection. If one can overlook the absurdity of it all - especially a Dubai honeymoon sequence , featuring Salman in Sheikh gear, complete with a photogenic falcon as a prop – Sonakshi is a thousand times more talented star-kid than some of the over- rated stick insects crawling around. Let’s call this a vada-pav Western which would curdle Clint Eastwood’s blood were he to watch it. It is dangerous in the extreme when a big ticket movie’s box office fate revolves around just one factor – the hero’s star power. And nothing else. Going by that yardstick the makers of ‘Dabangg’ which means ‘fearless’ in ‘Khari Boli’ , are just that. It takes guts and supreme confidence to place all your bets on a single individual – Salman Khan. Clearly, the gamble has paid off big time, going by the buzz. There is hardly a single scene which does not feature Chulbul. Since much is being made of his new look and ‘moochch’, surely SRK had sported it earlier in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ ? None of this matters when the movie is a hit. … the music has clicked ( two really catchy numbers, including a boozy ode to getting hammered called ‘Peeni Hai’ and the mandatory Sufi inspired number to appeal to Salman’s core constituency in the Middle East). Oh – there is also the much appreciated Buckle Trick – Salman’s hot new dance move during a hectic number in which he fiddles provocatively with the buckle of his belt. Let’s hand it to the main man – he has pulled it off – the stunts and pelvic thrusts are pure Salman. Nothing new there. But it is the naughty self- parodying, which is so camp, so out there, which delivers the biggest punch. What’s left for this guy now – all he needs is a cape. And he can call himself Superman. Officially.Khamoooosssshhh!!

I liked the film too...full on time pass total paisa vasool masala film. Salman Khan all the way. And Oh..the shirt scene was my favourite too. Boy if i knew how to maro a seeti, i would have stood on my seat for sure for this one scene.

What a movie! Just loved it... Definitely pasia vasool and munni to pakka badnaam hui. Khan-dan sure knows how to make a movie. Shirt scene literally cracked us up and amused us as well. Seriously hats off to the guy who thought of this.

I liked the film.. I dont know why dont u enjoy the moviews wich the other audience enjoys... I am shocked to read ur blog.. by the way I have completed my 300th blog post recently I would like u 2 read it - http://www.bloggerabhilash.info/2010/09/300-blogs-in-394-days-with-831-comments.html

The shirt ripping is a direct copy from The Hulk starring Edward Norton. Only The Hulk had his DNA to blame and here it's Sallu's fab abs!Speaking of cut to cut copy the film had so many 'inspired' moments from Wolverine, UFC, The Hulk and 300! Truly a Masala Mix.

Stick insects!!!and i thought u cud hold ur own in a place whr ppl put their foot in the mouth by giving unnecessary adjectives...I cant bring myself to watch this movie evn tho i like salman' s(acting)...

I think your review is hilarious!I loved the whole energy that was built up around the movie... With people in the single screen theater that I saw the movie in, dancing to the tunes of "Munni" and hooting and screaming at every dialogue.Salman has truly emerged as the "Rajnikant" of Bollywood!And idol-worship (pun intended) will be taken to a new level.

Watched it last evening and simply loved it! An out 'n out entertainer! Even in a place like PVR Saket (Delhi), the audience was hooting, whistling, clapping! Never before had I experienced such an overwhelming response! Though a scene or two disappointed me when I almost expected the bullet to be divided into two and hit back the goons (Rajnikant style!!!). Alas, that was not to be :(

Salman rocked! I have loved him ever since Maine Pyar kiya and I was beginning to think that his jadoo over me is over (considering that after having 101 posters of him in my room once upon a time, I skipped Veer and Wanted)! But yesterday, I got those goose-bumps again! I so love him!

Every dog has his or her day. One day it was Rajneeti, then Tere bin laden, Peepli live and now Dabaang. Salman never stopped trying and now he is reaping the harvest. He cant be compared to Rajni because he is too good looking. His success may be compared to Rajni's. Sonakshi is just another star daughter and has to prove herself. I rather prefer stick insects like Kareena, Deepika, Sonam who are quite good in their own way. And Dabaang could not have been a such a success without Salman because no other actor can make silliness more acceptable to critics and masses. And his statements and sorrys are another story. And this is definitely a hero's world. Can any heroine make this kind of impact at forty plus? All his once upon a time heroines will be given his mother's role on a platter. Any takers? Is Shobhaa at Sixty a myth?

You have no right to make any comments for this movie. You are salman khan hater we all know it and boycott Dabangg. If you have shame you should hide yourself rather than talk about Dabangg...whole world love this movie and it is the history of Bollywood..Salman rocks and nobody in this world can stop it. You are the most unethical person i had seen. God will punish you soon.

Hehe - loved this movie. Obviously loved Salman - but you've also got to hand it to Malaika - after all this time the dame can rock and give thumkas like no other. Reminded me of her '98 Gori nal ishq vid - when I fell in love with her :)

Loved the movie!! laughed my way into n out of the movie hall for a change! though the shirt crackin up seemed to remind me of a small-sized emulation of 'Hulk'! But, sans Sallu, the movie wud have been pretty much a dud i guess! My guess could be wrong but am entitled to my opinion! :)

mz de, when i first heard of "dabangg" i thought it was "the bang" and devoted to 26/11. little did i realise that the hero believed in hitting two birds with one bang, er..., stone and has dealt with both issues post-release. suchhay intleegant man. incredible hulk has already popped shirts and turned green too so sallu khan has a lot to compete with. also, the hulk magically acquired the beatle fringe during his transformation and chulbul only had a pathetic moochh. the belt-step owes its birth to exotic male strippers so farahkhan had better not take the credit. she can, of course, take all the credit for telling us the exact location of munni's pain and subsequent zhandu balm application. likewise, sonu sood's sulky glower we have already seen in "jism" when abraham is sent away by bips after leading him on (and on, and on, and on...). rajjo's wardrobe and make-up we see daily on aish during l'oreal commercials and "robot" trailers. so, what is so great about this dabangg? mooch also came from rub neigh bana di jodi's leftover props. just imagine sallu khan's thrill - the same hair that nestles on his lip once tickled the hawk nose of srk!! hawk reminds me of ferozkhan's dharamatma. don't know why. wait, was the hawk on the arm of the afghaani tribal leader? i am truly touched by this bollywood attempt at keeping our planet green - by recycling!!

It was another brainless entertainer.Fun when a 17 year old like me has had a few beers and is with a large group of friends most of whom are bollywood savvy girls, who know every line from every movie and have all the grapevine..yada yada.

But it's not a movie to go watch if you're serious about watching a movie.

shut up Shobha De...why you pretend that you know everything?...look at the numbers that this movie has pulled off. Don't try to say that whole janta is mad or stupid who has watched this and who are still watching it...its not about logic ,its about entertainment...if you want to find logic in everything then you should change your profession...

and being logical!!!! is this because you are not getting enough attention?is it something personal? seems like it....

I think you hate salman. seems like it. Not that i love him but your comments seems you are putting up a --ve biased review. Personal fights shouldn't be demonstrated via this medium. You need to mature.. just a thought!

"Let’s call this a vada-pav Western which would curdle Clint Eastwood’s blood were he to watch it."-

Why are we still licking 'Gora Ass' and thinking that their opinion is the Gospel truth?? We, Indians, have a mind of our own & our own taste in movies.. Dabanng being such a huge hit (with repeat viewers)..definitely means that Indians have loved the movie & lapped up Salman in the Chulbul character! But i think u r more bothered abt wat Mr. Clint Eastwood would think, rather than wat an average indian thinks. We would prefer to see our own Salman's shirt flying off by itself than to see Clint's westerns.Moral- Some indians still have a deep rooted inferiority complex because of the British Raj!

You can say anything.In favor or against the truth is that movie got really good audience. Until people like these type of action director will make movies like these.Free Movies online makes everything easy for people.

I agree and loved the spicy and candid write up !!! The movie was midless flick more so some idiotic drama based on the old 60's storyline, but perhaps it was just made for some bucks more than creating magic on screen through drama....well Malaika, Arbaaz and Salman - they all won;t be able to do it anyway....! So I think we should not even expect them to do some acting or theatrical performance - we will be asking them of too much. Salman is the man of the masses and that's what he made the silly slick for !! I am sure you get a lot of flak for being an honest writer in India - why don't people understand that it's your opinion and it's not imposed on anyone !!!!!!!! anyway, I love your work ! Stay honest !

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